Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
November 01, 2007
West Coast Joe

The Dodgers hired Joe Torre this afternoon:

Torre and the Dodgers finalized a three-year deal today to replace Grady Little, who resigned Tuesday. The contract is believed to be worth around $4 million a season.

"Having grown up in Brooklyn, I have a great understanding of the history of the Dodger organization and I am committed to bringing a world championship back to Los Angeles," Torre said in a statement released by the team. "I consider it an honor to be a part of this organization, which is one of the most storied franchises in all of sports."

Said General Manager Ned Colletti: "Few managers in the history of the game have accomplished what Joe has delivered. Throughout his career he has demonstrated the ability to turn a vision for success into results on the field and we welcome his passion and leadership. We have tremendous fans and they deserve no less."

If the Dodgers give Joe a good team, he'll do well managing them. Torre also wants input into personnel decisions:

Torre was said to be negotiating for the right to appoint his own coaches, among them Don Mattingly. He also wanted assurance that he would have input on player personnel moves, which could lead to the free-agent pursuit of Alex Rodriguez.

The Dodgers seem like a dysfunctional organization to me. As difficult as it was playing for the Yankees, you always knew where you stood with Steinbrenner. From reading blogs and newspaper stories about the McCourts, they seem less than honest in their dealings with employees. I wonder how Joe will react if that happens to him.

All in all, a good signing for Los Angeles. Torre is still the highest paid manager in the game, although not at the level under the Yankees.


Posted by David Pinto at 06:02 PM | Management | TrackBack (0)
Comments

The McCourts are still highly leveraged in their purchase of the Dodgers, they are not going to have much money to be throwing around, and they seemed to be trying to squeeze as much revenue from parking fees and ticket sales as possible. If I was Torre, I wouldn't be part of this organization, It appears that some of the players in the clubhouse should had been let go, like Jeff Kent, then to fire Little.

I still thinking the McCourts will have to sell the team in a near future, given they are still paying alot of money on loans to finance the team, and they are making a profit, but much of it is going to pay off loans.

Posted by: Ted at November 1, 2007 08:34 PM

I look forward to Torre falling flat on his face. He thought he was bigger than the Yankees. Time to put up or shut up.

Posted by: Jason at November 1, 2007 09:32 PM

I'll place my best this way: Joe Torre with "succeed" in LA because LA has a stellar crop of young talent that was poorly used this season and $ to pay for free agents. LA WILL win and Joe Torre will be given the credit for it...and that last part is absolutely ridiculous. He certainly deserves credit for working in the environment of NYC and the Yankees, but he's no genius. My point is that anyone with half a baseball brain could manage a Dodger team as young and talented as this one. My point is that I predict that Joe Torre will be credit for moving the Dodgers forward.

God how I hate the Dodgers!

Posted by: Kent at November 1, 2007 10:18 PM

Torre is going to be exposed for the weak manager he is in the National League.

Posted by: bmc at November 2, 2007 12:01 PM

Thanks for the motivational speech, Mitch. As bmc wrote, managing in the NL requires some actual acumen besides knowing how to handle the clubhouse, and Torre has never been an amazing tactician.

Posted by: Bud Selig at November 2, 2007 03:00 PM
Post a comment









Remember personal info?